Question:
My dentist says my upper wisdom teeth both have decay that can't be fixed
because of the location and they should be pulled. Both are lower in my
mouth than my other molars, possibly because there are no teeth below to
meet them. Apparently the left is worse and that's why I've started
having pain.
Since my dental exam and cleaning the temporary pains around my mouth are
gone (or I don't perceive it the same) but I have a sharp, brief, jangling
pain whenever solid food gets between my second molar and the wisdom
tooth. This goes away when I floss between those teeth, but until I do I
can get a sharp pain by swallowing hard, or stretching my jaw. It's seems
like it is more sensitive in the last day or two, but my dentist said
sometimes it will hurt more and sometimes less, but it's not "getting
worse".
Hot and cold water, brushing, and flossing don't produce pain. I do
sometimes get a spontaneous ache.
Does all this make sense? And does it seem reasonable to wait 5 or 6
weeks to get an appointment with the recommended oral surgeon? (three
weeks until the consult and then another presumably another wait.) The
pain doesn't seem to be disabling as long as it doesn't get much worse.
Answer:
I've had an experience of pain that my dentist attributes to a cavity in
my upper wisdom tooth which he can't fill because of it's location.
Because this involves pulling my wisdom teeth, I want to check here to see
that folks say that the pain I've been having fits the scenario; and also
if it seems ok to wait the 5 weeks it looks like it will be until I can
have the work done by the recommended oral surgeon.
I had very sharp, intense, brief pain that seemed to be in the upper left
first molar or bicuspid 3 times. I couldn't exactly pinpoint it. Twice
on hard bites and once when eating chunky peanut butter but not on a hard
bite. After the first sharp pain (chewing a peanut) I was very careful
chewing in that area until it seemed nothing was bothering me in that area
after a few days. On each ocassion that I started chewing normally again
the pain repeated. Those were #2 (peanut butter) and #3 (a hard bite on a
bit of cracker turned sideways.
During this entire period (and a little before it) I had TMJ pain. After
the third incident I started having pains appear and disappear around the
mouth to a degree that had not happened to me with TMJ before. This whole
time I have no intense reaction to heat, cold, prodding with a finger,
brushing, flossing, or careful chewing.
My dentist says my upper wisdom teeth both have decay that can't be fixed
because of the location and they should be pulled. Both are lower in my
mouth than my other molars, possibly because there are no teeth below to
meet them. Apparently the left is worse and that's why I've started
having pain.
Since my dental exam and cleaning the temporary pains around my mouth are
gone (or I don't perceive it the same) but I have a sharp, brief, jangling
pain whenever solid food gets between my second molar and the wisdom
tooth. This goes away when I floss between those teeth, but until I do I
can get a sharp pain by swallowing hard, or stretching my jaw. It's seems
like it is more sensitive in the last day or two, but my dentist said
sometimes it will hurt more and sometimes less, but it's not "getting
worse".
Get another referral to another surgeon from your DDS and get the
wisdom teeth out yesterday.
Can you tell my what about my description makes you say that, or why your
advice differs from my DDS who said it was ok to wait a bit and theGreen
who said it was ok to wait in response to my post "Re: Upper Wisdom teeth
extraction with cronic neck injury". Is there something specific I said
that makes you say to act quickly?
It sounds like the decay in the wisdom tooth COULD be the problem, but there
might be something else involved also. My suggestion to you is to have the
wisdom teeth removed, since it needs to be done anyway, and then see if the
pain goes away.
The lack of sensitivity to cold does not sound like it is totally related to
decay, and the lack of pain to biting pressure and heat makes it sound like
it's not an infection (abcess). It is impossible to diagnose over the internet
!
Do you have any sinus symptoms ? The roots of the upper teeth will quite
frequently extend into the sinus, and when the sinus gets inflammed or
infected, the pain feels exactly as you have described, exactly like a
toothache that seems to move around.
Another thought is that you may have a combination problem involving the
decayed wisdom teeth, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and/or the sinuses.
As far as waiting that long, no, I don't think it's reasonable. However, I
practice in a rather small town (about 30,000 people including the outlying
areas) which has 4 oral surgeons around. If the surgeon you have had
recommended is that good that everyone wants to see him, it may be worth the
wait.
Just read your "other" post, and have changed my mind about the
wait........didn't know about the neck problems..............I suggest that
since it is not an emergency, complicated by neck problems, and seem to be
straightforward and relatively uncomplicated extractions (from what you said
about them being lower than the rest of your teeth) that waiting for the oral
surgeon is the right thing to do.
